Last night, defying the will of a bipartisan majority of the House and Senate, Democrats voted to allow the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to receive federal taxpayer dollars.In September, large Congressional majorities in both houses voted to sever all ties between the federal government and ACORN. The Senate vote was 85-11; the House vote was 345-75. You'd think that those votes, which USA Today described as prohibiting "any federal funding for the community organizing group," would have settled the matter. You'd be wrong.
Months later, with the country's focus on jobs, healthcare, and the Global War on Terror, Democrats are moving to restore funding to ACORN. Last night, Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) offered an amendment during deliberations on the Democrats' massive year-end appropriations bill to clarify the prohibition on federal funds going to ACORN or its subsidiaries. That amendment was shot down on a 5-9 party line vote as Republicans sided with taxpayers while Democrats stood with ACORN.
Rep. Latham's amendment is necessary to prevent taxpayer money from going to ACORN because the Obama Administration's Department of Justice has taken advantage of a legal loophole to allow ACORN to continue to receive federal funds -- despite the passage of the House GOP's Defund ACORN Act in the fall.
The American people and the Congress have spoken loud and clear: ACORN should be denied any taxpayer funds. Period.
ACORN has already received far too much money from the American people. An analysis of federal data by the Office of the Republican Leader staff determined that ACORN has received more than $53 million in direct funding from the federal government since 1994, and has likely received substantially more indirectly through states and localities that receive federal block grants.
Enough is enough. The American people are tired of seeing their tax dollars wasted on an organization accused of serious crimes -- and that's why House Republicans are stepping up efforts to defund ACORN once and for all.